Happy New Year!

The old give way to the young. New thoughts sprout from fertile ground.

While the New Year beckons us with many promises, don't forget to give the old year its due.

Learn from past mistakes and carry the lessons of time with you.

This year resolve to laugh more, love more, forgive more, friend more and learn more.

May 2011 be your best year yet!

HEB awards Keep Alvin Beautiful grant

Members of KAB (Ron Mercer, Nelva Urick and Alice Sloan) joined with H-E-B employees (Misty Miller, Ronnie Duke, Mike Cashiola and Anna Bryant), Antoinette Kiechen (President of Manvel High School Senior Class), Manvel High School Special Education students, Diedra Hlinsky (IESI) and Manvel High School employee Peggy Howell in celebrating the grant that KAB recently received from H-E-B.

As part of its third annual Green Bag Grants program, H-E-B awarded Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) $50,000. That grant money was then distributed by KTB throughout six regions across Texas. Individual grants awarded ranged in size from $1,500 to $3,000.

Through this grant program, Keep Alvin Beautiful was awarded a grant in the amount of $2,500. Presentation of the check was made recently at Manvel High School, where the Life Skills students, led by paraprofessional Peggy Howell were instrumental in Keep Alvin Beautiful receiving this grant. At the beginning of this school year, the students placed recycling bins throughout the cafeteria. Several contests were also held which helped to encouraged can and bottle recycling. The Manvel High School Senior class won one of the contests. Members of the National Honor Society and the Life Skills students helped to tally the number of cans and bottles that were donated. The grant money will be used to purchase more recycling bins that will then be placed throughout the school.

The Green Bag Grant Program was established on Earth Day 2008 after H-E-B introduced reusable shopping bags. The idea behind the program was to reward Texans for buying and using the bags. Since then, H-E-B has given back five cents from the purchase of each reusable H-E-B green bag to support the statewide grant program.

“Each year, we are honored to be able to assist recipients of the program as they strive to make a direct and lasting impact on the environment in the communities they serve throughout Texas,” said Susan Ghertner, H-E-B Director of Environmental Affairs. “With reusable bag sales fueling the Green Bag Grants program, it is rewarding for our customers to witness their efforts come full circle.”


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What's that smell?

TEXAS CITY, Texas — A smell similar to rotten eggs enveloped Texas City about 5 p.m. Monday afternoon after a leak from a subunit at BP’s Texas City refinery.

Workers were doing maintenance work on a sour water compressor on the refinery’s Power 2 unit when workers noticed a smell after a piece of equipment failed, company spokesman Michael Marr said. The odor, which forced some businesses on Palmer Highway about 13 blocks from the refinery to shutter their doors and close windows, lasted more than an hour.

The smell is believed to come from liquid in the subunit that contained hydrogen sulfide, which is a hazardous chemical that has a strong smell of rotten eggs, Texas City Homeland Security Director Bruce Clawson said. The Texas City Fire Department and BP industrial hygienists conducted ground-level air monitoring and did not find any readings of hazardous chemicals in the air, Clawson said.

Between one and two barrels of sour water — which is waste water that contains hydrocarbons and is pumped to an enclosed sewer system for disposal — spilled, causing the offensive odor, officials said.

There was not a shelter in place order for the city, but Clawson issued a phone and e-mail alert to residents notifying them of the situation.

There was a brief shelter in place order within the refinery for areas downwind of the leak, Marr said. BP set up an incident command center and the leak was contained at about 9 p.m.

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Lockdown lifted at Manvel School

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on November 9, 2010 at 11:35 AM
Updated today at 11:35 AM


MANVEL, Texas -- Three Manvel schools were put on lockdown around 10 a.m. Tuesday morning while police searched for a gunman.
It started when a homeowner called police to report a trespasser on his property. Police spotted the armed suspect when they arrived, but he got away on foot.


The gunman disappeared near the schools and the Brazoria County Courthouse Annex. Officers also searched a nearby wooded area.


The lockdown was lifted around 11:30 a.m.
There's no word on whether police found the suspect.

Alert: Alvin child molester sought

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on November 5, 2010 at 3:32 PM

HOUSTON – Authorities are on the hunt for a man they say sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl, and they’re asking for the public’s help finding him.
Crime Stoppers and investigators with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office say Diamond Paul Croussaris, 37, raped a child while she slept.

After the assault was reported, detectives launched an extensive investigation and charged Croussaris with aggravated sexual assault of a child.

A warrant with a $40,000 bond was issued for his arrest.
Investigators say Croussaris is about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 160 pounds.
He has brown eyes and black hair.

Houston murders may be work of a serial killer

by Michelle Homer / khou.com
khou.com
Posted on November 1, 2010 at 1:38 PM
Updated today at 1:42 PM


HOUSTON – Police are looking into a possible link between the strangulation murders of at least three women since June.
The most recent cases involved homeless women. The body of Carol Flood, 62, was found on Oct. 10 in a stairwell behind the old YMCA building. She was partially nude. On Sept. 30, Retia LaFaye Long, 52, was found dead behind the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart at 1700 San Jacinto.

Now police believe the same killer may have strangled Raquel Mundy last June 17, then dumped her body in a field in the 300 block of St. Charles.
Mundy, 24, was murdered after accepting a ride from a stranger when she was stranded downtown.

She had dropped her mom and two kids off at the Greyhound bus station downtown around 1:30 a.m. Thursday. She then discovered her car had been towed from a McDonald’s parking lot across the street.
Mundy tried to call friends and relatives, but couldn’t find anyone to give her a ride to the tow lot. Witnesses saw her get into a grey car with an unknown man, according to police.

Mundy later sent a text message to her mother saying she thought she was in danger and feared the man was going to hurt her.
Angela Collins was still on the bus to California with her two grandchildren when she got the disturbing message.

She tried frantically to reach Mundy. Collins then called several relatives and asked them to try to find Mundy.
By the time the bus arrived in California, there was still no sign of her daughter.
"Next call we got, they had found the body. It was my baby, Collins said as she choked back tears. "This man took away my baby."
An autopsy revealed Mundy had been strangled.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE AT KHOU

Alvin fined $68k for wastewater violations

Alvin fined $68k for wastewater violations

By Judy Zavalla, Staff Reporter


The City of Alvin has recently paid a fine assessed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The settlement was hotly debated in Council Executive Sessions since the city was first notified of its non-compliance last May. The agreement was reached on Sept. 28 with the settlement amount being $68,160. This fine was assessed for 2009 violations.

The fine was assessed for non-compliance of the city’s wastewater treatment system near the intersection of County Roads 160 and 158.

The facility is located 3.5 miles northeast of the intersection of State Highway 35 and Farm-to-Market Road 2917, south of Alvin.

TCEQ assessed the fine because it was discovered the City of Alvin had discharged municipal waste into or adjacent to water in the State of Texas.

The report indicated the city was out of compliance for carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD) on a daily average on Oct. 31, Nov. 30 and Dec. 31 of 2009. The limit for CBOD is 10 mg./L and on those days, the city’s average fell between 23.20 and 34.44. It was also out of compliance for CBOD on a maximum basis on Feb, 28, April 30, Oct. 31, Nov. 30 and Dec. 31 of 2009.

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Breaking: 3 Alarm Fire in NW Houston

HOUSTON – A three-alarm fire displaced at least 37 families Wednesday in northwest Houston.

The fire broke out at about 2:30 p.m. at the Driscoll Place Apartments in the 1300 block of Gears Road at Greensmark Drive.

Air 11 video showed thick black smoke stretched across the sky as firefighters battled the large flames that burned through the units.

At least one person was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, fire officials said.

At least 37 units were affected by the fire, according to a preliminary damage assessment by the Red Cross. Red Cross volunteers were assisting families with emergency-disaster relief.

There was no word on what started the fire. Arson investigators were on scene.

911 call - backfires because of open laptop.

by Courtney Zubowski / 11 News
khou.com
Posted on October 12, 2010 at 11:37 PM
Updated today at 9:54 AM

HOUSTON -- A woman who called 911 to anonymously report a crime says she’s in fear for her life after the man she turned in called her just minutes after she placed the call.

According to the woman, who does not want to be identified, on Oct. 1, she was driving near Beltway 8 and Veterans Memorial Drive when she witnessed a man in the car next to her beating his passenger. She did not know either one of them.

“I saw him hitting her and he was taking his fist and he was just hitting her, aside her, just hitting her and I’m like this is crazy,” said the woman.

She placed the 911 call at 1:28 p.m. and thought that would be the end of her involvement, but 30 minutes later she learned it was just the beginning.

“About 1:54 p.m. my phone rang back and it was the suspect,” she said. “He was asking me ‘Who was this, who is this’ and I am like, ‘Who is this, you called my number,’ and then he hung up."

After that call came another, and this time it was a woman’s voice, she said.

“She called me just as he hung up and it was like, ‘Ma’am, are you the concerned lady that called about my welfare,’ and I am like,

‘Excuse me,’ and she said, ‘Well I’m OK,’ and I said, ‘Excuse me,’” said the woman.

She received another call the next morning from the Harris County Jail where the suspect was in custody. He was arrested for outstanding warrants, but never charged with assault.

“My phone rings again and it says, ‘You have a call from Harris County processing jail,’ and I immediately hung up,” she said.
“I will never, ever get involved with anything else again, not when it comes to me being fearful of the surroundings in my life.”

A spokesperson for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office says as far as she knows, this is the first time something like this has happened in their department.

HCSO spokesperson Christina Garza said the suspect was put in the back of a Harris County patrol car while the deputy talked to the woman he was accused of hitting. It was then he was able to read the woman’s phone number off of a laptop computer the deputy had left open in the front seat.

“It’s a very unique situation,” Garza said. “It’s never happened and we certainly don’t want this to discourage her, or anybody, from reporting crime to authorities.”

Garza said it’s common practice to keep laptops closed, but it’s not policy. In some situations, deputies are forced to rush out of cars quickly.

”If anyone is to blame in this situation, it’s the suspect who violated such important information and took it upon himself to do this,” said Garza.

Garza said the department is sending out e-mails to all deputies to remind them to keep their laptops closed.

The suspect is not facing charges for memorizing the information, or calling the woman. Garza said there is no proof that he ever threatened the woman.


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The 911 caller disagrees.

“I was threatened,” she said. “I was threatened when he received my information. My information should have been protected. I was threatened at that point, so what point of threat do they not understand?

Drug deal goes bad - two shot - one dead.

khou.com
Posted on October 7, 2010 at 7:26 AM
Updated today at 8:45 AM

HOUSTON—A 24-year-old man was killed and his brother injured after the two were shot in what appears to be a drug deal gone bad Wednesday evening, according to HPD Homicide detectives.
Police officers responded to a home on Winter Briar at Winter Seasons in southwest Houston for reports of a drive-by shooting.

They arrived around 9 p.m. to find two brothers had been shot. They said the actual shooting took place at another location about a half-mile away, but the brothers somehow made it back home.
Police believe the brothers drove their Cadillac a few blocks from their home to meet a group of men and purchase drugs. Some sort of altercation occurred and one of the men opened fire on the brothers.

"The exact circumstances are unclear as to what transpired a t the two locations, but we have one dead," said Sgt. Thomas Biggs, HPD Homicide Division. "We believe we have all of the players in custody.

The bullet traveled completely through one of the brothers. Police said he was shot in the chest or the back, but it is unclear which point is the entry and exit.
The other brother was shot in the foot. He was taken to Southwest Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he was treated and released. He returned to the scene to talk to police.
Several suspects were taken in for questioning and police said they definitely know one of them is the shooter.


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Breaking: Houston Ship Channel Closed!

HOUSTON, Texas

—A four-mile stretch of the Houston Ship Channel remained closed to marine traffic Monday after a barge slammed into a tower supporting a high-voltage electric transmission line, threatening to topple it into the channel.

Coast Guard officials said a towing vessel named Safety Quest was pushing three barges loaded with scrap metal about 6 a.m. Sunday when it smashed into a Baytown power line, which remained upright only with the support of one of the barges.
No injuries were reported, but the six-member boat crew moved to another vessel and to safety.
Officials said the section from Crystal Bay to the Blackwell Peninsula would remain closed until at least Tuesday night.

"The situation is a little bit unstable right now," said Capt. Marcus Woodring. "The lines are sagging and we cannot allow any vessels to pass underneath with the unstable situation and chance of those lines falling in the water."
Centerpoint Energy officials said the power had been shut off to the line because crews had previously been working on a nearby tower. They said no customers had lost electricity following the crash.
Eighteen inbound vessels attempted to get into the port early Tuesday afternoon, and many remained anchored off the coast of Galveston. Twelve outbound commercial ships were also stuck.
The 25-mile waterway is lined by the nation’s biggest complex of petrochemical plants. The Port of Houston ranks first in the nation in foreign waterborne tonnage and imports and second in U.S. export tonnage and total tonnage.

"Anytime you see something like this, you hate it, because it’s affecting people and how they make their money," said Richard Zeno, a tugboat captain who was not involved in the crash but watched the teetering tower as he was fishing with his family Sunday.

Coast Guard officials said the ship channel handles more than $320 million in cargo and crude daily, meaning the Port of Houston would lose about $1 billion if the waterway stayed closed until Tuesday night.

"Commerce, of course, is very, very important," said Chief Warrant Officer Lionel Bryant. "But we don’t want to put lives in jeopardy doing so."

"This is actually very difficult because the tower is actually sitting on the barge," Bryant said.
The Coast Guard said the boat’s owner is St. Louis-based AEP River Operations.

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Most accidents occur on Bypass 35

State says more than 100 accidents occurred at Bypass intersections in Alvin
By Judy Zavalla

While driving, does it often seem as though you continually encounter flashing lights at the same intersections daily? If that is your belief, there are good reasons to believe that theory.

Even in Alvin, that theory is constantly validated This can also be proven by 2003-2008 information obtained from the Texas Department of Transportation.

The most dangerous intersections in Alvin and Manvel included: Gordon/Bypass 35, Mustang Road/Bypass 35, Jephson/Bypass 35, State Highway 6/Bypass 35, FM 517/Bypass 35 and FM 528/Bypass 35. All of these intersections saw more than 101 accidents during that time period. Other intersections that saw 51-100 accidents included: FM 1128/State Highway 6, State Highway 6/Second Street, South Street/State Highway 35, State Highway 35/Coombs, State Highway 35/Adoue, FM 1462/State Highway 35, Johnson Street/Gordon Street, FM 1462/South Street, State Highway 35/House Street, State Highway 35/Cleveland, Fairway/Bypass 35 and State Highway 6/Tovrea.

In the Alvin/Manvel area, many of the accidents can be attributed to the increased development in both of these cities. This results in an increase of population and vehicles.

According to smart

motorist.com, most accidents can be attributed to four common factors: equipment failure, roadway design, poor roadway maintenance and driver behavior.

Equipment failure includes problems with the vehicle’s braking system, tires and steering/suspension. Regular inspections are very important and can help to detect a potential problem while allowing the driver ample time to seek repair work.

Roadway design can also contribute to accidents. Permanent roadway hazards include merging traffic, school zones and livestock/pedestrian crossings. There are also temporary hazards which include stalled vehicles, traffic jams and animals.

Deer running out into traffic is particularly dangerous in the East Texas and the University of Houston Clear Lake Campus area. Roadway surfaces that result in accidents include the weather conditions, the area where the road surface meets the shoulder of the pavement and the location of the roadway.

Traffic control devices are another element of the roadway design. School crossings, turning lanes and police surveillance cameras momentarily distract drivers from their normal driving routine. Crash barrels, speed bumps and concrete barriers add to driver’s frustration and deviation from the driver’s normal driving pattern. Roadway identification signs help drivers to drive from one location to another location.

Roadway signs include hazard markers, route numbers, mileage estimates and points of interest. While these signs are an aid to drivers, they can also temporarily take the driver’s attention.

All drivers understand the problems associated with weather conditions. Highway maintenance, while necessary, can attribute to an accident. Debris on the roadway, faded road signs, potholes and roadway construction all contribute to making driving conditions much more difficult.

Driver behavior must also be considered when reviewing the causes of accidents. This behavior is often influenced by the use of cell phones, beverages being spilled and drivers determining they are always in the right while operating a vehicle. The speed of the vehicle is also determined by the behavior of the driver. The faster the speed of the automobile, the greater risk of an accident.

The driver’s aggressive behavior may also become a factor and is often difficult to change.

The Automobile Association in Great Britain reported that drivers consider aggressive behavior by other drivers as: aggressive tailgating, lights being flashed at the driver because of another annoyed motorist, aggressive or rude gestures, deliberate obstruction, verbal abuse and physical assault.

According to Alvin Police Department Crime Prevention Officer Ruben Solano, “Defensive driving is not just the name of a driving course.

“It is a state of mind and a method which will help motorists avoid a wreck.” “Drivers need to be prepared and maintain that safety cushion between their car and the car in front of them,” he concluded.

Hospital seeks family ...

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Officials at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center are trying to find the family of a man who was critically injured after an incident in Alvin Wednesday evening.


The man was picked up by Life Flight near the intersection of Highway 35 and Mustang Road, according to a statement from Memorial Hermann. The statement did not provide details about how the man was injured.

The man is described as a Caucasian who is believed to be in his late 30's. He has dark hair, hazel eyes and a mustache. His height is approximately 5 feet 5 inches, and he weighs about 147 pounds. He was wearing denim jeans, a Texans cap, a pair of Brazos boots, a T-shirt and a titanium wedding band.

The patient has a tattoo on each upper arm -- one tattoo reads "Kaleb", the other reads "Jacob."
Anyone who believes they have knowledge of this patient is encouraged to contact Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center at 713-704-4000.

Breaking: Fire destroys Houston complex

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on September 15, 2010 at 11:20 AM

HOUSTON—Eight units were completely destroyed and several families were displaced after a two-alarm fire damaged part of a southwest Houston apartment complex Wednesday morning.
Fire officials rushed to the burning apartments on Wilcrest at South Drive around 6:45 a.m.
HFD said they had a slight water pressure issue in the beginning, but managed to quickly get the fire under control. No firefighters were injured and all of the families got out safely.
One child standing outside was checked for smoke inhalation at the scene. He was determined to be OK.

Arson investigators do not know how the fire started at this time.


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AISD seeks naming suggestions for 3 facilities

The Alvin Independent School District Board of Trustees is seeking input from the community on suggestions for the name of three new facilities that will be opening in the next two years, Elementary #14 in Shadow Creek Ranch in Pearland, Junior High #6 in Rodeo Palms in Manvel and the Agricultural Science Center in Manvel.

According to board policy, the responsibility for naming facilities rests with the Board of Trustees. As in the past, a committee has been formed to accept suggestions and make a recommendation to the Board on the name of the building.
Board policy also states that school facilities shall be named for persons or places. If the name of a person is to be considered, that individual should have attained prominence locally or nationally in the fields of education, science, art, statesmanship, political science, or military achievement; or have been an early Texas pioneer, or an outstanding president of the United States. If the name of a place is to be considered, the criteria should include historical relevance.

There are specific guidelines that govern the naming of facilities after persons, living or deceased. The person should have made a significant contribution to society; the name should lend prestige and status to an institution of learning; and the nomination must be presented in a brief two paragraph statement that should contain biographical and/or historical data and reasons justifying the choice. Petitions are not acceptable.

Suggestions should be delivered to Shirley Brothers at the Alvin ISD Administration Building at 301 East House St., Alvin., Texas 77511 or e-mailed to Brothers at sbrother@alvinisd.net by September 7. All submissions should be signed and must include the name, address and phone number of the person making the suggestion. Petitions will not be accepted.
The Alvin ISD Board of Trustees will make the final determination on the names of the building. For more information about the process for naming the facilities, please call Brothers at 281-245-2460.

Hawaii beats Pearland for Little League World Series title shot.

South Williamsport, PA (Sports Network) - Noah Shackles went 2-for-2 with a homer, two RBI and three runs scored to back Ezra Heleski's two-hitter, and the Waipahu, Hawaii little league team beat Pearland, Texas, 10-0, in the United States championship game of the Little League World Series.

In the international title game, Ryota Norimatsu tied the game with an RBI single in the sixth, and Ryo Motegi's run-scoring single in the seventh won it, leading Japan to a 3-2 victory over Chinese Taipei.

In addition to striking out six over five shutout innings, Heleski went 2- for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Kahoea Akau added three hits in the resounding win, helping Waipahu win its second U.S. title in three years. In 2008, this same Little League squad beat Matamoros, Mexico to win the championship.

Mason Van Noort had one of the two hits for Pearland, which came back against Georgia to reach this U.S. title game.

With two runners on and one out in the opening inning, Kaimana Bartolome opened the scoring with a two-run double. Shackles homered later in the inning to plate Bartolome for a 4-0 advantage.

Shackles scored in the third on a wild pitch, and Heleski's RBI single later in the same at-bat made it a 6-0 game. Akau's run-scoring double provided a seven-run cushion.

Three more runs from Hawaii ended the game in the fifth due to the 10-run rule. Shackles walked and scored on Cody Maltezo's triple, and Heleski followed with another RBI single. A wild pitch later scored Heleski to end the game.

Japan trailed, 2-1, heading to the bottom of the sixth, but Koutaro Kamikura singled to left to lead off the inning. Following a strikeout, Kamikura advanced to second on an error by the catcher before Norimatsu's hit tied the game.

Kamikura stayed on to pitch a scoreless seventh -- striking out two -- before Masaya Ishii singled with one down in the home half to start the winning rally. A wild pitch sent Ishii to second, and Motegi's two-out single to center won the game.


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Houston man charged in cold case murders.

by khou.com staff
khou.com
Posted on August 25, 2010 at 10:22 AM
Updated today at 10:54 AM
HOUSTON – A man long-suspected of killing a Houston woman and an infant in 1984 was finally arrested and charged this week.

Charles Leon Smith, 56, is charged with capital murder in the slayings of 23-year-old Pamela Clarence and 1-month-old Tashona Clarence.

Twenty-six years have passed since the young mother and her baby were killed in their home in the 4300 block of Rogers, but even after the case went cold, investigators never gave up.

The murders occurred on August 2, 1984. Police said Smith and Clarence were in a relationship at the time and had recently had a child together.
But that night, when Smith went to visit his girlfriend, investigators believe Pamela Clarence confronted Smith about another relationship.
Police said Clarence had discovered Smith had another girlfriend, who’d just given birth to Smith’s son.

When Clarence told Smith they should end their relationship, police believe he snapped.
Investigators said Smith strangled Pamela Clarence with an electrical cord and then smothered Tashona with a pillow.

The bodies were later found by concerned family members.
From the beginning of the investigation, police said they thought Clarence knew her killer, and they originally identified Smith as one of two suspects in the murders.
But investigators were unable to collect enough evidence to charge either suspect, and case went cold, lost among more than 700 other killings in Houston that year.

Then, when HPD cold case investigators reviewed the murders this year and again identified Smith as a suspect, things changed.
Police said Smith was taken into custody on August 23 and confessed to his role in the crimes.
He was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning, and was behind held in the Harris County Jail without bond.


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Houston stripmall destroyed in blaze.

by Lisa Chavarria / 11 News
khou.com
Posted on August 25, 2010 at 8:23 AM
Updated today at 9:21 AM

HOUSTON—A three-alarm fire swept through parts of a southwest Houston strip mall, destroying several businesses in its path early Wednesday.
Houston Fire Department officials said the fire began inside the M. Trading Wholesale Shop on Fondren at Harwin just before 5 a.m.

The business houses wholesale supplies sold to dollar stores. HFD said there may have been hair products or chemicals on the racks that helped fuel the flames.
Two more businesses next door to the wholesale shop, Jessie’s Nail Salon and Sloreria Lee’s flower shop, were also destroyed.

The owner of Star Korean Karaoke Bar said he was inside his business when a man riding a bicycle knocked on his door and alerted him to the fire. He was able to get out safely and call 911. His business was not damaged by the flames, but may have smoke damage.

One firefighter was injured battling the blaze. He was treated at the scene for a laceration on his hand.


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NW Houston toddler found in hot car dead

by Courtney Zubowski / 11 News
Posted on August 19, 2010 at 7:32 PM
HOUSTON – A 2-year-old boy has died after being found locked in a hot car in northwest Houston, according to authorities.

The incident happened Thursday around 2:30 p.m. at 13813 Dentwood.
According to police, parents were arriving home from the grocery store when their 7-year-old child, who is autistic, began having seizures. While the parents went inside their home to tend to the 7-year-old, the 2-year-old boy was left locked inside the vehicle.

After going inside to help the 7-year-old , the parents realized their younger child was missing and eventually found him in the back seat of their SUV. Police said the boy was trapped inside the vehicle for about two hours.

One of the parents called 911 when they saw the toddler was not breathing. The boy was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators said the temperature inside the vehicle was 122 degrees when the toddler was found.
Neighbors of the victim’s family said it was an unfortunate incident that happened to good people.

"This is a good family, their children comes first with them," said Michael Carey. "I know for a fact that it was not intentional."

Investigators said the parents will probably not face charges, but the case will go to a grand jury.



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Houston Area Forecast: 100% Chance of Meteors

After a week-ling lead-up, tonight, August 12/13, 2010, is finally the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower. Wit this event, meteor season 2010 will kick off in a big way.

Every August, Earth passes through the stretch of space junk shed by comet Swift-Tuttle, reaching the deepest concentration of debris tonight. According to some estimates, under ideal conditions (dark country skies), one can expect to see 60 meteors per hour. The reason the meteors are called Perseids is because the meteors seem to radiate from the constellation Perseus. The best time to view the shower is in the pre-dawn hours, with 3-5am being best.

Don't want to stay up that late? Don't worry, Perseus rises in the Northeast around midnight and will climb higher as the night progresses. However, unless one lives out in the country, the early post-midnight hours will probably involve Perseus being low in a light pollution dome. To improve odds of seeing meteors, travel out of light-polluted Cleveland and to the suburbs or, even better, the country if you can. In the suburbs, just going from the front to back yard can make a dramatic difference as this will eliminate glare from those pesky street/house lights to a large extent.

Two things can ruin the meteor shower: clouds and the Moon. The clouds? Well, that's a regional thing. Check your local Clear Sky Clock to see what the clouds have in store for your location tonight. For us Northeast Ohioans, tonight is looking good. As for the Moon, that's an Earth-wide issue. The good news is that, this year, the Moon is just a few days past new, which means that there will be no Moon up during the time of the meteor shower. There will be a slight lunar glow in the South (opposite Perseus), but this will disappear about midnight, which is about the time Perseus clears the Northeast horizon.

So how about viewing tips?

First, plan to stay out awhile, as it takes the human eye about 15 minutes to get optimal night vision capability. The bad news is that, even one bright flash of white light will wipe out night vision, requiring you to start the process all over again. Next, grab a lawn chair or, even better, a lounge-type chair. Trying to lean back with a straight-back lawn chair can be a pain in the neck, literally! Eyes ready for dark and with something to sit/lay on, settle in for a night of hopeful meteor watching (or at the very least, stargazing), just try not to fall asleep and don't forget the bug spray!

Besides meteors, tonight can be a great time for binocular viewing, owing to your use of a chair. Under suburban (maybe) or rural skies (definitely), a pair of medium power (10x50) binoculars can yield some stunning wide-angle sights. For someone truly dedicated, why not try and keep a tally of how many meteors you see for every complete hour? Really ambitious? Why not try photographing the meteors?

Whatever you plan to do tonight, good luck and clear skies!

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Police seek ACU robber

August 6, 2010

ALVIN, Texas - Just after 9 o'clock on August 6, Alvin Police responded to a bank robbery at the Associated Credit Union of Texas branch office inside the Kroger store in the 3100 block of State Highway 35 in Alvin.

The robber was a tall dark skinned black man, 5'10- 6"00, skinny, 165-175 lbs, in his mid to late 20's. He was wearing black baseball cap, white writing on back, white insignia on front, white shirt, jeans, tennis shoes.

He waited in the pharmacy area and then approached the teller with a note that said he had a gun and handed the teller a grocery bag. He never actually displayed a gun.

If you have any information, you are asked to call. Suspect appears to be the same subject that robbed Community Bank located at 13222 Tidwell Houston TX, on Wednesday August 4th, 2010.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective David Ives at the Alvin Police Department at 281-388-4370 Brazoria county Crime Stoppers at 1-800-460-2222 or the nearest office of the F.B.I.



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BACH Fun Fest set for Aug. 7 in Alvin

By Judy Zavalla

The Brazoria County Association for Citizens with Handicaps (BACH) invites the Alvin community to join them at their yearly fundraiser, BACH Fun Fest.

The event will be held on Saturday, Aug. 7 at the Alvin-Manvel Knights of Columbus Hall (Highway 6 and County Road 146). The event is sponsored by the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department and the Brazoria County Peace Officer’s Association.

The event will begin with free children’s activities and entertainment from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Barbeque will be served from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m.

The silent auction will begin at 5 p.m. followed by a live auction at 6:30 p.m. A $10 donation per person will be accepted at the door.

BACH Fun Fest will include: music, horse rides, arts/crafts, clowns, face painters and games.

BACH’s mission is to help children with special needs to achieve. Through the efforts of BACH, positive child development programs are available for children with special needs. BACH also empowers families to be lifelong advocates for their children.

BACH was organized in 1973 and chartered by the State of Texas in 1975 as a non-profit, 501c3 organization. BACH provides an array of services to Brazoria County children.

To qualify for the BACH ECI, a child must be delayed in one or more of the following developmental areas: cognitive (thinking, problem solving); gross motor (sitting, walking); fine motor (hand skills), expressive language (talking)/receptive language (processing information); self help (feeding, dressing) and social (getting along with others).

BACH’s Early Childhood Intervention program works with the child’s family to develop services for each child, provide support and information to parents and help parents become advocates for their children.

BACH also provides a variety of free services to children age birth to 12-year-olds and their families through its Support Services Program.

The BACH Integration Station is a specialized clinic which focuses on the needs of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and sensory processing issues.

For more information on BACH or the BACH Fest, call 979-849-2447 or visit the their website at www.bacheci.org.


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Test your hurricane IQ.

By GREG AINSWORTH


This year's hurricane season in the waters adjacent to the Southeastern United States is drawing more attention than usual, thanks to the oil spill in the Gulf. The National Hurricane Center expects a busier than average year, so it's time to energize our hurricane IQ.
Whether you call them hurricanes, typhoons or cyclones, they are the scourge of tropical locales worldwide. Ocean water temperatures of at least 80 degrees seem to be one of the key ingredients in their formation. Think hot and muggy -- and lots of evaporation. If other conditions are favorable in the atmosphere, winds near the surface may begin to converge, and a low-pressure system may form.


In the Northern Hemisphere, those cyclonic winds spiral in a counter-clockwise direction. All of that water vapor in the atmosphere rises and condenses inside thunderstorm complexes, releasing a great amount of energy in the process. Bands of thunderstorms stretching from the system's outer margins to the center of circulation help feed the massive heat engine with warm, moisture-laden air.

As the system matures, the characteristic cloud-free and relatively calm eye may form at the center of circulation. But surrounding the eye is the eyewall, where the most intense convection and highest wind speeds occur.

Hurricanes pose a major threat to life and property because of their ability to wreak havoc in so many different ways. Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is wind damage -- not surprising since a storm isn't called a hurricane until it has sustained winds of at least 74 mph. In August 1969, Hurricane Camille made landfall along the Mississippi coast with sustained winds estimated at 200 mph.

An important, but often overlooked hurricane impact is the storm surge. This refers to the ocean water pushed onshore into low-lying areas by hurricane-force winds. Depending on the status of the local tides during landfall, storm surges of 15 to 20 feet are not out of the question. If you happen to live in a near-shore area at say, 10 feet above sea level, the surge can be bad news indeed. Hurricane Opal caused a 24-foot storm surge near Pensacola, Fla., in September 1995.

Even days after landfall, hurricanes, or their remnants, are still capable of producing tornadoes and flooding rains. After slamming into the coast of south Texas in September 1967, Hurricane Beulah spawned more than 100 tornadoes. Tropical Storm Claudette, whose winds didn't reach hurricane strength, nevertheless dropped 45 inches of rain on Alvin, Texas, in 1979.

For further information about these storms, check out the website for NOAA's National Hurricane Center.

Greg Ainsworth keeps an eye on local weather and climate issues. Contact him at ainsworth@theglobal.net.

Tar balls found on Texas beach

(CNN) -- Texas authorities have traced a small number of tar balls found near Galveston to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Coast Guard and state officials said Monday.
The tar balls collected from beaches in Galveston County over the weekend could fit in a five-gallon bucket, but have been confirmed to have originated from the ruptured BP well off Louisiana, said Jim Suydan of the Texas General Land Office.

Galveston is about 400 miles west of the site of the worst oil spill in U.S. history, which began in late April with the sinking of the offshore drill rig Deepwater Horizon. Coast Guard Capt. Marcus Woodring said authorities weren't sure how the tar balls made it that far, but tests confirmed that at least the first batch collected Saturday came from the Deepwater Horizon spill off Louisiana, he said.
None were found Monday, and the area's beaches and waterways remained open.
"Until we see a greater sum of oil, I can be cautiously optimistic that maybe this is something that will pass," Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski told reporters.


Tar balls occasionally strike the Texas coast, in part because of seepage from undersea oil deposits or from sunken vessels, Woodring said. "Seventeen or 18" cases of tar balls unrelated to the

Deepwater Horizon disaster have been reported to Woodring's Houston-Galveston Coast Guard sector since the spill erupted in April he said.

And though the ones found Saturday and Sunday were confirmed to have come from the ruptured well off Louisiana, they were less weathered than officials would have expected -- leading the Coast

Guard to suspect the oil was either stuck to the side of a ship's hull or mixed in with ballast water from a passing vessel, he said.

Ships passing through the spill are are supposed to be decontaminated before they head into port, he said.


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Freedom Over Texas Fireworks Show!

Houston will set the stage for an extraordinary patriotic celebration at Mayor Annise Parker’s official Fourth of July event, Freedom Over Texas with Fireworks Presented by Shell. Texas singer-songwriter Pat Green will headline the annual event held from 4 to 10 p.m. on Sunday, July 4, with his performance culminating in the nation’s largest land-based fireworks show, presented by Shell Oil Company. Admission to the event is FREE with the donation of one canned item per person to the Houston Food Bank.

"As Americans, I believe it is our civic duty to celebrate the birth of our nation and reflect upon those brave men and women who have made great sacrifices for us to live in a free country," said Mayor Annise Parker. "I invite fellow Texans to join us in honoring our country, respecting the values of the founding fathers and instilling pride in our diverse community.”

Headlining the evening’s celebration on the Freedom Stage is Pat Green (with Cowboy Mouth and Little Big Town), an artist who has blazed his own trail and recorded a total of 10 studio albums. Fifteen of his singles have charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, of which the highest-peaking is the #3 "Wave on Wave" from his gold-certified album. Green has toured with many popular country music artists including Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson, Kenny Chesney, and many more. At this year’s event, Green will be presented by the Texas Music Charts with an award recognizing him as the “Most Played Texas Artist” of the last decade.

When the concert comes to a close at 9:30 p.m., eyes will turn skyward for an extraordinary fireworks spectacular perfectly set to a selection of America’s favorite tunes, from patriotic songs to rock ‘n’ roll hits to classic bestsellers. Shell Oil Company is the underwriter of the 2010 fireworks show for the fifth consecutive year, and with their contribution, the city’s official fireworks show will enliven Houston’s skyline. Producing the show will be world-renowned fireworks artists from Pyro Spectaculars North by Souza.

"For more than 80 years, Shell has been a strong supporter of the Houston community and our nation. As a country, we have much to celebrate, and we at Shell are thrilled to participate in the festivities this year,” said Ben Dillon, Vice President Corporate Affairs, Shell Oil Company.

In addition to this year’s entertainment headliner, the festival will also spotlight a top-notch selection of local and regional music. Throughout the day, four stages will keep toes tapping with music ranging from country western and rock 'n' roll to Latin, R&B, and oldies.

Booth exhibits and family friendly patriotic activities will encompass Buffalo Bayou and Eleanor Tinsley Park:

KBR Liberty Park

Encompassing more than three football fields in length, KBR Liberty Park will showcase military artifacts and vehicles including representation from all five military branches and more. The branches and the Houston Police Department will offer recruiting on site.
The U.S. Army will showcase an Apache Helicopter flight simulator and a 55-ton M-60 Battle Tank.
The Museum of Printing History and the Military Museum of Houston will exhibit historical items that have helped shape our nation’s history in this area.
Bud Light Zone

Cool off with a cold one at the Budweiser Beer Garden, and enjoy a prime view of the sixth annual Bud Light Texas Volleyball Championship Series Finals.
Make a rest stop at the Bud Light Build-A-Bar, which will offer a shaded sitting area equipped with plasma TV screens. Also, don’t miss a sneak peak of an event performer during their official Bud Light Sound Check.

Be sure to stop by the Budweiser Good Sport’s Booth and learn how you can save lives by being a designated driver.

Walmart All American Kids Zone

More than 30,000 square feet of free educational programming and entertainment await children.
Houston Public Library’s HPL Mobile Express computer lab, will teach child how to use a computer.
Houston Fire Department’s Smokehouse will teach kids the importance of fire safety.
Historical costumed characters will talk with children about the documents that defined our government.

Juno Baby will have sing-a-long activities for children and little aspiring stars are invited to perform in the Rising Stars Search contest for a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to San Francisco and be featured in the next Juno Baby production.
Free games, rides, face painting and interactive activities will be open to children of all ages.
Additional activities:

Gexa Energy will be giving US Flag hand fans to the first 30,000 people who enter the gates. Booths will be setup for families to take fun photos with Shrek The Musical characters, enter for a chance to win a trip for two to Hawaii or Cancun, and also for a chance to win a Home Theater System, which includes a Sony Bravia 40’ LCD TV.
Visit KBR’s five primary beneficiaries on site: Career and Recovery Resources, Goodwill Industries, Houston Community College, Soldier’s Angels and Wreaths Across America-Houston.
The 2010 Land Rover models will be on display including the all new 2010 Land Rover LR4 and award winning Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.
Freedom Over Texas with Fireworks Presented by Shell will be simulcast on ABC-13/KTRK-TV from 7-10 p.m. on Sunday, July 4, and will be syndicated statewide from 8-10 p.m. In addition, KILT 100.3 FM will simulcast the music medley specially choreographed for the fireworks spectacular.

With the donation of one canned item per person to the Houston Food Bank, admission for the event is FREE. Without the donation, tickets will be $8 per person. Children two years and under will be admitted free. In keeping with last year’s theme, Freedom Over Texas with Fireworks Presented by Shell will expand its offering of recycling receptacles, encouraging all patrons to recycle.

Freedom Over Texas with Fireworks Presented by Shell sponsors include: Fireworks sponsor: Shell; Anchor Sponsors: Gexa Energy, Bud Light/Silver Eagle Distributors, KBR, Houston Area Land Rover Centres, and Walmart; Co-producers: City of Houston/Mayor’s Office of Special Events; Additional sponsors include Doubletree Hotel Houston Downtown; Houston Chronicle; 100.3 KILT; HOT 95-7; Mix 96-5; SportsRadio 610 and Mega 101 FM; Texas Lottery; Juno Baby; Enterprise Rent-A-Car; Texas Southern University and LifeGift. In-kind sponsors include Houston Dynamo, Houston Rockets, Houston Astros, Houston Aero and Metro. The event benefits Houston Central Improvement, Inc.

For more information, call 832.393.0868 or visit the Freedom Over Texas with Fireworks Presented by Shell Web site at www.freedomovertexas.org or www.houstonspecialevents.org.

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Military deployments hard on local families

dtarrant@dallasnews.com


Stephen Stewart, 4, talks on the phone with his father, veteran Jeffrey Stewart, who now works as a contractor in Afghanistan, at Conder Park in Killeen. Stewart and Robyn Schultz, with Stephen's brother, Tristan, 1, divorced last year; the boys live with Stewart's parents in Alvin, Texas.
Starting when Gwendolyn was 4, her dad, Sgt. Glenn Roberts, has gone on three deployments in eight years – twice to Iraq. Each time, he has been gone a year.


Gwendolyn Roberts likes to draw. Her dad appears in many of her sketches. He and Gwendolyn hold hands, and she wears an ear-to-ear smile. But in one drawing, Gwendolyn watches as her father leaves home. Her eyes are wide, her mouth is turned down and a big teardrop sits on her cheek.

Her dad went on his last deployment to Iraq in December 2007. Gwendolyn, then 10, did not handle his leaving well.

"She was withdrawn, quiet and very worried," said Gwendolyn's mom, Martha Roberts, from her family's home near Fort Hood. "She worried a lot about her dad. She wasn't talking very much. She would just start crying because she missed her dad so much."

Parents, educators and policymakers have all expressed concern about military children whose parents deploy to a war zone. Yet there has been little research done on the effects of combat tours on their performance in school and social well-being, said Anita Chandra, a behavioral scientist at Rand Corp., testifying before Congress in March.

Advocates know that children in military families – especially those who have gone through long deployments – are experiencing problems. But they lack essential data, including basic information such as where military children live and what schools they attend.

Mary Keller, president of the Texas-based Military Child Education Coalition, estimates that Texas has 100,000 military children. But even that guess might be too low.

"They are the invisible children in the state of Texas," Keller says.

Collecting that data would enable support organizations to know where and how to target their services, Keller says. "We have to have information that's precise. That way we can also understand where to target programs and which ones work the best."

In one of the few studies of its kind, Rand Corp., with Chandra as the lead investigator, found that children in military families reported more symptoms of anxiety than children in the general population.

The study, published in December in the Pediatrics medical journal, also found that children whose parents had been deployed for longer periods over the past three years experienced more difficulties in school and at home. This was especially true for older boys and girls, the study reported.

Two years ago, Scott & White Healthcare opened a clinic in Killeen to serve Fort Hood military families. The hospital surveyed its primary care physicians. Those doctors reported seeing an increase in anxiety-related physical ailments among children.

"There wasn't anything really physically wrong, but the kids were having chronic headaches and tummy aches," said Maxine Trent, a counselor and coordinator for Military Homefront Services. "Those of us in behavioral health care know that's often [emotionally] related."

With more than 20 years of military service, Glenn Roberts was eligible to retire. He had promised Gwendolyn he would do so by the time she turned 11. But he still had one last tour to complete. This deployment was extra hard on the family because there was a newborn in the house. Gwendolyn's younger brother was named Glenn after his father.

A friend told Martha Roberts about the free counseling offered for Fort Hood families at Military Homefront Services. Gwendolyn started seeing a therapist there in summer 2008, about halfway through her father's deployment.

Gwendolyn talked about her fears to her counselor. Drawing became part of her therapy, another way to express her feelings. She mailed many of her drawings to her father – "pictures of me and him holding hands," she said.

"When your dad is deployed, you miss out on some of the father-daughter stuff," Gwendolyn said. Like bowling. Or playing video games, especially the Wii. "We usually would relax by watching TV together."

She particularly loved when her dad could make it to her dance recitals. But during his last deployment, she grew sad when she learned he wouldn't be able to attend.

The Friday night of the recital, she was getting ready in her room when her mother told her she had to leave the house to pick up a package. When her mother returned, she asked Gwendolyn to come to the kitchen. There, on leave from Iraq, stood her father.

"And she walked in and her face just lit up," Martha Roberts said.

"I was really happy," Gwendolyn said. "I couldn't stop smiling."


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Alex may effect Gulf oil production ..

HOUSTON (Dow Jones)--Tropical Storm Alex, expected to become a hurricane Tuesday, seems to be headed on a path away from the bulk of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico's oil and gas production and refining infrastructure. But some production impact will be felt as one of the largest energy producers in the Gulf said Monday it was shutting down several platforms as a precaution.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) said it had pulled 700 workers from its Gulf operations, and some 835 workers remained offshore. The company is shutting in production from its Western and Central Gulf of Mexico assets to prepare for the potential full evacuation of personnel Tuesday. The company started pulling workers from the Gulf over the weekend. The company didn't specify how much production would be shut or how many platforms were being evacuated.

At 11 a.m. EDT, Alex was located about 85 miles west-northwest of Campeche, Mexico, in the western Gulf of Mexico, and was heading towards southern Texas and northern Mexico. Most U.S. offshore oil and gas platforms are located in the eastern part of the Gulf, far from Alex's forecast path.

Alex "is not likely to have a major impact on production or refining in the U.S.," Doug MacIntyre, senior analyst at the Energy Information Administration, told Dow Jones Newswires Monday. "Alex's current path appears to avoid most of the oil and gas production platforms and any of the major refining centers."

Energy markets Monday seemed to take the storm in stride. Light, sweet crude for August delivery ended 61 cents lower at $78.25 a barrel a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Natural gas for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled 2.96% lower at $4.717 million British thermal units.

Gulf producers Apache Corp. (APA), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) also said Monday they have started evacuating non-essential workers from the offshore facilities expected to be in the path of the storm but none have so far reported any impact to their production.

BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) said Monday it pulled non-essential personnel from three offshore facilities in the the Gulf, and that production was not affected. The company evacuated workers from Atlantis, Mad Dog and Holstein platforms.

Alex may delay BP PLC's plans to increase the amount of oil collected from a leaking well in the Gulf by a week, a company official said Monday.

While the storm's winds are expected to stay far to the west of the Deepwater Horizon spill, high seas are likely to become an issue this week, said Kent Wells, a senior vice president with BP, in a press briefing. Waves up to between 10 feet and 12 feet would prevent BP from hooking a third rig up to an underwater containment system, a process that needs three days of good weather, Wells said.

Two rigs, the Discoverer Enterprise and Q4000, are already collecting between 20,000 and 25,000 barrels of oil a day from the well, which has gushed ever since a rig working at the site caught fire and sank in April.

Chevron Corp. (CVX) and ConocoPhillips (COP) said that they have not evacuated workers, but that they are closely monitoring the forecast for Alex.

A hurricane watch was issued for parts of the south Texas Gulf coastline area and parts of northern Mexico, the National Hurricane Center reported Monday on its website.

The NHC, in its advisory, also said Alex likely will become a hurricane Tuesday and has increased in strength, now with winds of 60 miles per hour.

The watch area for the U.S. extends from south of Baffin Bay to the mouth of the Rio Grande in Texas, with Mexico issuing a hurricane watch from the Rio Grande to La Cruz.


-By Isabel Ordonez, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9207; isabel.ordonez@dowjones.com

(Brian Baskin and Angel Gonzalez contributed to this article

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Alvin man breeds Capybaras - as pets.

By LINDA LOMBARDI

The Associated Press
It's one thing to get a goldfish because your daughter begs for one. It's quite another to end up with a hundred-pound rodent who has more than 2,700 Twitter followers.

Caplin Rous is a capybara. Related to the guinea pig, the capybara is the largest species of rodent. Though they're native to South America, Caplin was born in Texas and lives in the town of Buda with Melanie Typaldos, who never expected this animal to take over her life quite the way he has.

Typaldos says it all started on a trip to Venezuela, when her daughter Coral got to hold a young capybara and "fell in love."

"After we got back, she pretty relentlessly pestered me about getting one for a pet," Typaldos says. "Since Coral lived in an apartment and was planning on spending a year in Asia, she couldn't have a pet capybara herself so, she felt, it was up to me to fulfill her capybara vision."


Young Capybara Water pigs (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) pictured with their mother in the zoo of Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday, Augsut 16, 2007. Last August 11, in the zoo were born six waterpigs, but one died. Water pigs (Capybara) are no pigs but rodents.

Even capybaras that are bred in captivity like Caplin are not domesticated animals, so early handling and contact is critical for them to be comfortable living with people. Typaldos got Caplin when he was only 11 days old, and took him to work every day for the first three months. Then, "someone complained there was a furry, piglike animal in the building," and she took a month of vacation and stayed home with him.

Caplin Rous is now 2 and a half. The second part of his name, which Typaldos pronounces like "rose," stands for "Rodent of Unusual Size" (a reference to the movie "The Princess Bride"). He's also a rodent of unusual abilities. He can walk on a leash and even do some tricks, but Typaldos says it's important not to exaggerate any similarity to a dog doing tricks.

"Dogs have thousands of years of being trained to be subservient to people," she says. "A capybara will not do a trick just to make me happy. The quality of the trick is very dependent on the quality of the treat."

Most people who keep capybaras keep them as farm animals, like a sheep or goat, but Caplin basically lives indoors with Typaldos (he eliminates in a pan of water in her bathroom). Outdoor space is necessary as well for grazing and swimming in his pool; in the wild, capybaras are semi-aquatic, diving into rivers to escape predators. Somewhat ponderous on land, capybaras are surprisingly graceful in the water.

"On land he's not very active," she says. "When he's in the water he's like another animal. That's where he's really the happiest."

There's no way of knowing how many private individuals own capybaras, but Justin Damesta, a breeder in Alvin, Texas, says that he sells five to 10 of them a year as pets.

Damesta recommends that a pet capybara be raised indoors for the first few months and then kept outdoors with sturdy fencing, a heated shelter and a pool. Potential buyers who contact him are usually fairly well informed, but, he says, "I have and will turn down people I don't consider qualified or capable."

Some other pet capybaras also can be followed on the Internet, such as Dobby in Seattle. But Typaldos is probably unique in the way she has made the capybara her mission: She spends a couple of hours a day updating Caplin's Internet presence on a blog and social networking sites.

When asked how much time it takes to care for a capybara, she says, "I spend all my time with him, but that's a matter of choice."

Caplin's Web activities are partly fun -- such as interactive games of "Rodent Jeopardy" -- with a serious educational purpose, too. "When I was thinking of getting him, there was nothing on the Web about getting a pet capybara," says Typaldos. "That was a large impetus for the blog. They're not the right pet for most people."

Typaldos has a background in biology, and also keeps horses and reptiles. Her property is big enough that Caplin can graze and swim, and she lives in a climate appropriate for a tropical animal.

On her blog, she's honest about the problems in caring for a capybara. When people ask her about getting one, she tells them first to read her whole blog, including the entries about when he has bitten her.

But Typaldos also sees Caplin as an ambassador of sorts.

"People don't like rodents," she says, but many rodents make good pets. Her children had pet rats when they were young. "If someone says something bad about rats, on the blog or Facebook, he'll always step in and say something.

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Disbarred Manvel lawyer no stranger to death

June 1, 2010 11:58 am Greg May wrote:

Shawn Roberts

The Texas Rangers and other authorities are investigating the deaths of four people close to disbarred Manvel attorney Shawn Roland Roberts.

Roberts, who was disbarred last year for professional misconduct related to drug use, was at the scene of each death, according to police.

He's being treated as a witness in the April 14 death of his wife, Amanda Linscomb, who police believe died of an overdose.

The Texas Rangers are assisting with the case and also probing the deaths of Tara Sganga, a girlfriend of Roberts whose body contained numerous drugs when she died in March 2007; Steven Blackshear, Roberts' roommate who died from acute toxicity in March 2009; and Roberts' mother, Sandra Roberts, who shot herself in August 2009.

Roberts is in the Harris County jail on several drug charges, including a charge of delivery of a controlled substance via injection related to Sganga's death.

A Brazoria County grand jury reviewed the deaths of Blackshear and the mother, but found no evidence of foul play.

Harris County prosecutors filed the delivery charge in August 2009, after a grand jury declined to indict Roberts on a murder charge.

Roberts' attorney, Mark Bennett, said that prosecutors have no evidence that Roberts injected Sganga with drugs.

“The (drug) charge is driven in part by a very upset family who wants Shawn held responsible for their daughter's death,” Bennett said.

As far as Roberts' involvement in the other deaths, Bennett said people involved in drugs will likely have people around them die. Asked if that meant Roberts was a drug user, he said, “I don't have an answer for that.”

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Texas Gulf Waits & Worries

LAPORTE -- Richard Arnhart spends much of his days monitoring wind trajectories, scientific bulletins and TV newscasts.

Parts of an oily blob three times the size of Rhode Island -- and growing -- are believed by many experts to be lumbering closer to the Texas Gulf, and Arnhart is part of the first line of defense.
As a regional director for the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Program in the Texas General Land Office, Arnhart is paid by the state to fight oil spills, and he's heavily involved in state and federal contingency planning for any possible impact on Texas from the massive oil spill lurking in the Gulf of Mexico.

Communities all along the Texas coast are making similar preparations as they join the rest of the world in tracking daily developments in one of the worst oil spill disasters in history.
No one knows for sure if remnants of the spill, which was about 160 miles east of the Lone Star State late last week, will reach Texas waters. The consensus seems to be that if there is an impact it will be in the form of tar balls or a frothy substance resembling chocolate mousse. Experts don't expect any residue to hit this far west for several weeks.

Beyond that, just what threat the spill poses for a region of the state whose economy and culture is tied to the gulf is difficult to gauge. Environmentalists warn of possibly irreversible damage to the state's fragile ecosystems and endangered wildlife. Others worry about potential losses to fishing and tourism, though local officials say they have yet to see any signs of an economic backlash.
"It's going to have an impact one way or another," said state Rep. Aaron Pena, D-Edinburg, chairman of the state House Select Committee on Emergency Preparedness, which has scheduled a Monday hearing in McAllen to examine Texas preparations for the spill. "We swim in that ocean. We eat the food that comes out of that ocean. It's part of our [committee's] charge to be prepared for emergencies, and this is certainly an emergency that Texas should be prepared for."
'No news is good news'

Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, whose office would be in charge of fighting residue from the spill and enforcing the cleanup, took steps late last week to calm fears about the oil slick.

"We're watching and waiting, but it's just not time to go to general quarters," said Patterson, who is scheduled to testify at Monday's hearing. "No news is good news."

Patterson sought to dispel TV reports that tar balls from the spill are already showing up on Texas beaches. Although tar balls occasionally wash ashore along the Texas Gulf, they may be decades old and could come from natural seepage or earlier spills, the land office said. An analysis on tar balls collected from Jamaica Beach on Galveston Island last week proved conclusively that the substance did not come from the oil slick in the gulf, said Cmdr. David Berliner of the Coast Guard.
Nevertheless, an out-of-control underwater gusher dumping more than thousands of barrels of oil into the gulf each day is impossible for Texans to ignore. Houston area residents watching TV last week, for example, might have seen ads aired by attorney Jim Adler offering his service to victims of the spill.

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Oil spill threatens already weakened wetlands

by Brad Woodard / 11 News
khou.com


Crews depart with giant box to help Gulf oil leak
With millions of gallons of oil already in the gulf and massive underwater plumes that could poison and suffocate sea life across the food chain, experts say the damage from the spill could endure for a decade or more. For Galveston, however, the picture isn't quite as bleak.

"There may be some kind of effect coming this way, some little tarballs, but we'd be talking about almost three weeks into the future, which gives it more time to break up. More time to sink," said Peter Davis, chief of the Island's Beach Patrol.

If Davis doesn't seem overly concerned, it's because he's seen it all before.

"I've worked here for almost 30 years, and before that I was on the beach all the time," says Davis. "I remember in the 80s when there was less regulation; there was tar around a lot more."

Long before the Deepwater Horizon explosion, in fact, long before offshore drilling, tarballs were washing up on Texas beaches. The state estimates as much as a million barrels of crude oil leaked into the gulf through natural seepage in just the last year.

Although the coast is clear in Galveston, at least for the moment, some business owners along the seawall worry all the news surrounding the spill with scare off tourists.

"They don't know if there is oil or no oil," says Izzy Wolraich, the owner of four businesses on the Island. "And we know there's no oil.

There're afraid about poisoned fish and dirty water, but there's not a panic yet."

And that's what he fears the most.

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Alvin Chamber Warns About Scam!

Alvin-Manvel residents warned about scam
May 6, 2010 3:58 pm Robert Stanton wrote:
Connie J. Elies, president of the Alvin-Manvel Area Chamber of Commerce, warns residents and business people to beware of an advertising scam that is using the chamber's name. Here is an e-mail she sent to chamber members and the media on Thursday:

Dear Members and Friends,

I have just become aware of a potential scam targeting area businesses.

Calls are being received across our area from a company who is claiming to represent the Alvin-Manvel Area Chamber of Commerce to solicit advertising on an "Alvin, Texas 2010 City Map."

To be clear, the chamber is not currently working on any type of map or other publication. In the future, when we offer advertising opportunities, chamber members will first be notified to bring awareness of the project and also given the name of the company that will be contacting you regarding advertising.

No one will ever call you without you first being notified of the project. Should you ever have questions regarding a company's affiliation with or representation of the Chamber, please don't hesitate to call our office immediately.

As a rule, never agree to advertising over the phone with a company that you aren't familiar with. There are plenty of reputable agencies in and around the Alvin-Manvel area that will contact you directly when there is a legitimate local publication in production.

Sincerely,

Connie J. Elies

connie@amacc.org


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HIGH SCHOOL GYMNASTICS: Gold rush ends for Lady Cats Collins 3rd in all-around; Hansen 2nd on uneven bars

ALVIN, Texas — For the first time since 2003, the Central High School girls gymnastics team will return to the James R. White Gymnastics Building without some kind of gold from the Texas High School Gymnastics Championships.

The best finish for the Lady Cats in Saturday’s individual event finals was Julia Hansen’s second place on uneven bars. Hansen scored a 9.85 to Lake Highlands’ Sarie Morrison’s 9.90.

The German exchange student also finished sixth on vault with a 9.70 to end her Texas high school gymnastics experience.

“It was really fun,” Hansen said. “I am glad I got to compete and I got second on bars. First would have been better, but second was cool, too.”

In other individual event results for the Lady Cats, Stormy Luera was sixth on balance beam with a 9.675. Chaney Collins tied for seventh on uneven bars with a 9.55, took ninth on floor exercise with a 9.40 and tied for 10th on vault with an 8.70.

It wasn’t the finish Collins was looking for. Central head coach Tony Walker explained that the judges claimed Collins shuffled her feet between leaps during a dance sequence on the floor exercise and deducted her heavily.

Neither Walker nor Collins was happy about the outcome.

Collins’ day was somewhat redeemed when she was awarded a scholarship and was named to the Texas team that will compete in Florida next month.

Friday night, the Lady Cats finished second to Lake Highlands in the team standings, and Collins was third in the all-around.

Late Friday night, the Central boys finished eighth as a team following the optional round of competition. Unlike a year ago when the Bobcats dropped a spot after the second day, they managed to hold on to the place they were in after the compulsory round this year.

The finished with a score of 305.30.

“Overall, I am extremely proud of the team,” Central boys coach Kern Arrott said. “They have come a long way this year. They have fought hard. For them to be here at the state meet was a huge thing, and to get up there and finish eighth was awesome.

“The seven teams that were ahead of us were very, very good teams.”

Humble Kingwood won the boys team title with a score of 330.350.

Central’s Ryan Terrill was 12th in the all-around with a score of 107.75. He was in fifth place after the compulsory round and couldn’t keep up with the difficulty of the other gymnasts’ routines.

The Bobcats’ other all-arounder, Christian Finley, was 32nd. Hurst L.D. Bell’s Elijah Holt won the boys all-around with a score of 112.85.

“His difficulty level is not where those other guys’ are,” Arrott said of Terrill. “He has seen a lot of difficult skills thrown, and I have told him that he is capable of that.

“It comes down to spending time in the gym, and that is something he is going to have to think about.”

Terrill competed in three events on Saturday. He finished seventh on vault with a 9.20 and ninth on high bar with a 7.75.

He also competed on floor exercise but didn’t finish in the top 10.

The top 10 in each event after Thursday and Friday’s rounds, including ties for 10th, advanced to Saturday’s finals.

“I feel OK about it,” Terrill said. “I had a couple of bobbles, a couple of things I was disappointed about. It just didn’t all come together.

“I thought I would be higher. I thought I would do better.”

Now both teams look toward next year with high expectations. Arrott is pleased with the experience his team gained this year and is excited about what next year holds.

Walker will lose Collins but will gain a couple of talented freshmen to go along with another team that will have only one senior, Luera, next year.

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